International Politics

On July 3, the Egyptian army chief General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi removed the country's then-incumbent President Mohamed Morsi from power and suspended the Egyptian constitution.

The United States and five other world powers had struck a deal with Iran that curtails its contentious nuclear program in exchange for limited relief from painful economic sanctions and marks the most significant accord between Washington and Tehran in more than a quarter-century. According to the US Secretary of State John Kerry the deal doesn't mention Iran to have a right to enrichment, but Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, had expressed a different viewpoint as per international media reports. The deal also capped off nearly three months of a whirlwind diplomacy -- almost as swift as it was unprecedented -- following a decade-long global nuclear standoff with Iran and an extended history of failed negotiations.

In a move widely seen as completing the formal transition of power, Xi was elected President of the People's Republic of China on March 14, in a confirmation vote by the 12th National People's Congress.

Since Thaksin was ousted by a military coup d'état in 2006, political instability has become somewhat commonplace in Thailand. In 2013 the tension reached its highest.

In 2002, rioters in the western Indian state of Gujarat savagely killed nearly 1,000 people, most of whom were Muslims. Now, barely a decade later, Narendra Modi, who was the chief minister of Gujarat at the time and still holds the office, is a leading candidate to become prime minister of India.

On-going conflicts continue to affect thousands of people in both Sudan and South Sudan. With over 1000 dead, even after more than two years of independence, the crisis in South Sudan is still unresolved.

The debt-ceiling crisis in the US began in January 2013 and ended on October 17, 2013 with the passing of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, though the debate continues.

2013 was also the year of global surveillance disclosure of which Edward Snowden became the hero-cum-villain.